All my homies hate Craig Breslow, however I don’t. I feel he’s accomplished a superb job underneath constraints that appear to be slowly lifting because the years go by, as witnessed by the big-money signing of Ranger Suarez this winter, which woulda been unthinkable a couple of years in the past. The workforce made the playoffs final 12 months and appears fairly rattling strong heading into this one, even when it might use a bit extra energy hitting within the absence of Triston Casas and Rafael Devers (and Kyle Schwarber, if we need to go even additional again). However yanno, it’s cool sufficient.
To make sure, I don’t need to pooh-pooh the shortage of oomph, however that is the most effective Purple Sox workforce heading right into a season since most likely 2019 and I actually, actually don’t need to miss the forest for the bushes. The workforce is enjoyable once more, even when the man in cost isn’t very enjoyable and has paid the value for it within the public’s opinion. “Aloof” has not often been extra accurately utilized as an adjective. You most likely wouldn’t need to hang around with Breslow, nor would I, however you most likely would need to chill with Chaim Bloom (as would I), simply to indicate you ways a lot that individual metric is value. And whereas I used to be all the time possible predisposed to be constructive towards Craiggers just because he’s not his nihilist, Baseball Prospectus-writing alum predecessor, I feel he’s earned it.
There’s only one drawback: He seems an excessive amount of like prosperity gospel preacher Joel Osteen for me to take him absolutely severely. By no fault of his personal, I can’t assist however see him as a con man though I do know he’s not. I’d say I hate it, nevertheless it’s sort of humorous. It’s additionally sort of scary. I imply, take a look at this shit:
Right here’s the wild half: Osteen is eighteen years older than Breslow (who’s youthful than me, for fuck’s sake), although a superb portion of Joel’s face is significantly youthful. (In equity, that photograph is from 2015.) Rising up, I used to be obsessive about informercials of every kind, as rising up on the Winery it offered me with a kind of weirdo I wasn’t prone to encounter in our little Russillovian society. I didn’t take the bait – I personal zero Shams-Wow, nor did I settle for whom Osteen implored me to just accept as my savior – however televised hucksters have all the time fascinated me, or did earlier than they moved to YouTube, the place now I swat them like flies as my son scrolls via Shorts.
Again on subject, I actually suppose the resemblance is uncanny sufficient that Breslow is aware of about it. Although as a Jew and seemingly not of feeble mind, I don’t suppose he’s taken Osteen’s bait. I simply discover it laborious to disbelieve my lyin’ eyes on this one. One thing is amiss. I simply can’t fairly determine what. I’ll unravel it and report again. Keep tuned.
